A statistical preview of tonight's Guinness Men's Six Nations first round match between defending champions Ireland and France at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome (kick-off 9pm local time/8pm Irish time).

2024 GUINNESS MEN'S SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP:

Friday, February 2 - FRANCE v IRELAND, Stade Vélodrome, 9pm local time/8pm Irish time (live Virgin Media One/ITV 1/France 2/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Sounds/BBC Radio 5 Live/IRFU Live Blog) FRANCE: Thomas Ramos (Stade Toulousain); Damian Penaud (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), Gaël Fickou (Racing 92), Jonathan Danty (Stade Rochelais), Yoram Moefana (Union Bordeaux-Bègles); Matthieu Jalibert (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), Maxime Lucu (Union Bordeaux-Bègles); Cyril Baille (Stade Toulousain), Peato Mauvaka (Stade Toulousain), Uini Atonio (Stade Rochelais), Paul Gabrillagues (Stade Français Paris), Paul Willemse (Montpellier HR), Francois Cros (Stade Toulousain), Charles Ollivon (RC Toulon), Gregory Alldritt (Stade Rochelais) (capt). Replacements: Julien Marchand (Stade Toulousain), Reda Wardi (Stade Rochelais), Dorian Aldegheri (Stade Toulousain), Posolo Tuilagi (USA Perpignan), Cameron Woki (Racing 92), Paul Boudehent (Stade Rochelais), Nolann Le Garrec (Racing 92), Louis Bielle-Biarrey (Union Bordeaux-Bègles). IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) (capt), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary's College/Leinster). Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster), Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster). Referee: Karl Dickson (England) Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia) Television Match Official: Ben Whitehouse (Wales) Head-To-Head: Played – 102 France Won – 59 Ireland Won – 36 Drawn – 7 Ireland v France – Results Since 2000: 2000: Ireland won 27-25, Paris 2001: Ireland won 22-15, Dublin 2002: France won 44-5, Paris 2003: Ireland won 15-12, Dublin; France won 43-21, Melbourne 2004: France won 35-17, Paris 2005: France won 26-19, Dublin 2006: France won 43-31, Paris 2007: France won 20-17, Dublin; France won 25-3, Paris 2008: France won 26-21, Paris 2009: Ireland won 30-21, Dublin 2010: France won 33-10, Paris 2011: France won 25-22, Dublin; France won 19-12, Bordeaux; France won 26-22, Dublin 2012: 17-17 draw, Paris 2013: 13-13 draw, Dublin 2014: Ireland won 22-20, Paris 2015: Ireland won 18-11, Dublin; Ireland won 24-9, Cardiff 2016: France won 10-9, Paris 2017: Ireland won 19-9, Dublin 2018: Ireland won 15-13, Paris 2019: Ireland won 26-14, Dublin 2020: France won 35-27, Paris 2021: France won 15-13, Dublin 2022: France won 30-24, Paris 2023: Ireland won 32-19, Dublin Biggest Wins: France: Points: 45-10, 1996 Five Nations; Margin: 44-5, 2002 Six Nations Ireland: Points: 32-19, 2023 Six Nations; Margin: 24-0, 1913 Five Nations Individual Records In The Series: Most Tries In A Match: France 3 (Christian Darrouy 1963, David Venditti 1967, Vincent Clerc 2007); Ireland 3 (Joe Quinn 1913, Brian O’Driscoll 2000) Most Points In A Match: France 26 (Thierry Lacroix (1995 RWC); Ireland 17 (Michael Kiernan 1989, Ronan O’Gara 2001 and 2007, Jonathan Sexton 2014)

Most Appearances – Ireland v France:

16 – Rory Best, Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara 15 – Willie John McBride, Brian O'Driscoll, Fergus Slattery, Cian Healy 14 – Mike Gibson 13 – John Hayes, Jamie Heaslip, Philippe Sella, Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton Top Points Scorers – Ireland v France: 127 – Ronan O'Gara 121 – Jonathan Sexton 73 – Michael Kiernan 61 – Morgan Parra 58 – Ollie Campbell 55 – Eric Elwood 50 – Didier Camberabero 46 – Thierry Lacroix, Frederic Michalak 40 – Vincent Clerc, David Humphreys, Brian O'Driscoll 39 – Jean-Baptise Elissalde Top Try Scorers – Ireland v France: 8 – Vincent Clerc, Christian Darrouy, Brian O'Driscoll 6 – George Stephenson 5 – Patrice Lagisquet, Emile Ntamack, Joseph Quinn, Philippe Saint-André 4 – Serge Blanco, Niall Brophy, Cedric Heymans, Adolphe Jaureguy, Jim McCarthy, Eugene Ribere, Philippe Sella, Jonathan Sexton France – Form Guide From Start Of The 2023 Six Nations: Won 29-24 v Italy away (Guinness Six Nations) Lost 32-19 v Ireland away (Guinness Six Nations) Won 32-21 v Scotland home (Guinness Six Nations) Won 53-10 v England away (Guinness Six Nations) Won 41-28 v Wales home (Guinness Six Nations) Lost 25-21 v Scotland away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up) Won 30-27 v Scotland home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up) Won 34-27 v Fiji home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up) Won 41-17 v Australia home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up) Won 27-13 v New Zealand home (Rugby World Cup Pool A) Won 27-12 v Uruguay home (Rugby World Cup Pool A) Won 96-0 v Namibia home (Rugby World Cup Pool A) Won 60-7 v Italy home (Rugby World Cup Pool A) Lost 29-28 v South Africa home (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final) Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2023 Six Nations: Won 34-10 v Wales away (Guinness Six Nations) Won 32-19 v France home (Guinness Six Nations) Won 34-20 v Italy away (Guinness Six Nations) Won 22-7 v Scotland away (Guinness Six Nations) Won 29-16 v England home (Guinness Six Nations) Won 33-17 v Italy home (Bank of Ireland Nations Series) Won 29-10 v England home (Bank of Ireland Nations Series) Won 17-13 v Samoa neutral (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up) Won 82-8 v Romania neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B) Won 59-16 v Tonga neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B) Won 13-8 v South Africa neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B) Won 36-14 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B) Lost 28-24 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final) International Championship All-Time Records: Points – 566 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland) 557 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland) 546 Jonny Wilkinson (England) 528 Owen Farrell (England) 467 Stephen Jones (Wales) 424 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales) 406 Neil Jenkins (Wales) 403 Chris Paterson (Scotland) 290 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland) 288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland) 270 David Humphreys (Ireland) Tries – 26 Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland) 24 Ian Smith (Scotland) 23 George North (Wales) 22 Shane Williams (Wales) 18 Gareth Edwards (Wales) 18 Cyril Lowe (England) 18 Rory Underwood (England) Caps – 69 Sergio Parisse (Italy) 67 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales) 65 Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland) 64 Rory Best (Ireland) 63 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland) 60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy) 60 Cian Healy (Ireland) 60 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland) 56 Mike Gibson (Ireland) 56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales) 55 Stuart Hogg (Scotland) 55 Ross Ford (Scotland) 54 John Hayes (Ireland) 54 Jason Leonard (England) 54 Alessandro Zanni (Italy) France – Most-Capped Players: 118 Fabien Pelous 111 Philippe Sella 98 Raphael Ibanez 93 Serge Blanco 89 Olivier Magne 86 Damien Traille 85 Gaël Fickou 85 Nicolas Mas 84 Sylvain Marconnet 83 Dimitri Szarzewski France – All-Time Leading Points Scorers: 436 Frédéric Michalak 380 Christophe Lamaison 373 Dimitri Yachvili 370 Morgan Parra 367 Thierry Lacroix 354 Didier Camberabero 274 Thomas Ramos 267 Gérald Merceron 265 Jean-Pierre Romeu 252 Thomas Castaignède France – All-Time Leading Try Scorers: 38 Serge Blanco 35 Damian Penaud 34 Vincent Clerc 32 Philippe Saint-André 30 Philippe Sella 26 Philippe Bernat-Salles 26 Émile Ntamack 25 Christophe Dominici 23 Christian Darrouy 23 Aurélien Rougerie Ireland – Most-Capped Players: 133 Brian O'Driscoll 128 Ronan O'Gara 125 Cian Healy 124 Rory Best 118 Jonathan Sexton 112 Conor Murray 108 Paul O'Connell 105 John Hayes 101 Keith Earls 101 Peter O'Mahony Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers: 1108 Jonathan Sexton 1083 Ronan O'Gara 560 David Humphreys 308 Michael Kiernan 296 Eric Elwood 245 Brian O'Driscoll 217 Ollie Campbell 195 Paddy Jackson 180 Keith Earls 164 Joey Carbery Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers: 46 Brian O'Driscoll 36 Keith Earls 30 Tommy Bowe 29 Denis Hickie 21 Shane Horgan 19 Girvan Dempsey 19 Jacob Stockdale 18 Geordan Murphy 18 Jonathan Sexton 17 Brendan Mullin 17 Andrew Trimble World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers: 1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand) 1271 Owen Farrell (1237-England, 34-Lions) 1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions) 1113 Jonathan Sexton (1108-Ireland, 5-Lions) 1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions) 1083 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland) 1030 Florian Vlaicu (Romania) 1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy) 970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions) 967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand) World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers: 69 Daisuke Ohata (Japan) 67 Bryan Habana (South Africa) 64 David Campese (Australia) 60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions) 55 Hirotoki Onozawa (Japan) 50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions) 49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand) 49 George North (47-Wales, 2-Lions) 47 Brian O'Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions) 46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand) 46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand) 46 Julian Savea (New Zealand) 44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand) 43 Beauden Barrett (New Zealand) 41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions) (Note: Japan's Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries, and Hirotoki Onozawa scored 55 tries, but not all against major international opposition) The '100 Caps' Club: 170 Alun Wyn Jones (158-Wales, 12-Lions) 153 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand) 148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand) 142 Sergio Parisse (Italy) 141 Brian O'Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions) 139 George Gregan (Australia) 134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions) 134 James Slipper (Australia) 132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand) 130 Ronan O'Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions) 129 Stephen Moore (Australia) 129 Florian Vlaicu (Romania) 129 Ben Youngs (127-England, 2-Lions) 127 Victor Matfield (South Africa) 127 Kieran Read (New Zealand) 125 Cian Healy (Ireland) 125 Michael Hooper (Australia) 125 Aaron Smith (New Zealand) 124 Rory Best (Ireland) 124 Bryan Habana (South Africa) 124 Jonathan Sexton (118-Ireland, 6-Lions) 123 Beauden Barrett (New Zealand) 122 Davit Kacharava (Georgia) 121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia) 121 George North (118-Wales, 3-Lions) 120 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia) 120 Conor Murray (112-Ireland, 8-Lions) 119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy) 119 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa) 119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions) 119 Alessandro Zanni (Italy) 118 Owen Farrell (112-England, 6-Lions) 118 Fabien Pelous (France) 118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand) 117 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa) 116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia) 115 Dan Biggar (112-Wales, 3-Lions) 115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia) 115 Paul O'Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions) 112 Marco Bortolami (Italy) 112 Dan Carter (New Zealand) 111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions) 111 Philippe Sella (France) 111 John Smit (South Africa) 111 George Smith (Australia) 110 Dan Cole (107-England, 3-Lions) 110 Will Genia (Australia) 110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions) 110 Sekope Kepu (Australia) 110 Courtney Lawes (105-England, 5-Lions) 109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa) 109 Taulupe Faletau (104-Wales, 5-Lions) 109 Catalin Fercu (Romania) 109 Chris Paterson (Scotland) 109 Brodie Retallick (New Zealand) 109 Alexander Todua (Georgia) 108 Agustin Creevy (Argentina) 108 Owen Franks (New Zealand) 107 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy) 107 Victor Gresev (Russia) 107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions) 106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy) 106 Rob Simmons (Australia) 105 Leigh Halfpenny (101-Wales, 4-Lions) 105 Sean Lamont (Scotland) 105 Florin Surugiu (Romania) 104 Mihai Macovei (Romania) 104 Diego Magno (Uruguay) 104 Nicolas Sanchez (Argentina) 104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions) 103 Matt Giteau (Australia) 103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy) 103 Shalva Mamukashvili (Georgia) 103 Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand) 103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions) 102 Jonathan Davies (96-Wales, 6-Lions) 102 Stuart Hogg (100-Scotland, 2-Lions) 102 Stephen Larkham (Australia) 102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa) 102 Peter O'Mahony (101-Ireland, 1-Lions) 102 Alessandro Troncon (Italy) 101 David Campese (Australia) 101 Keith Earls (Ireland) 101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal) 101 Vasco Uva (Portugal) 100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania) 100 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia) 100 Andrei Garbuzov (Russia) 100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions) 100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions) 100 Lasha Malaghuradze (Georgia) 100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)